UEFA Euro 1968

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1968 UEFA European Football Championship
Italia '68
UEFA Euro 1968 logo.svg
UEFA Euro 1968 official logo
Tournament details
Host country Italy
Dates 5 – 10 June
Teams 4
Venue(s) 3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Italy (1st title)
Runners-up  Yugoslavia
Third place  England
Fourth place  Soviet Union
Tournament statistics
Matches played 5
Goals scored 7 (1.4 per match)
Attendance 260,916 (52,183 per match)
Top scorer(s) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić (2 goals)
← 1964
1972 →

The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third European Football Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968.

It was in this year that the tournament changed its name from the European Nations' Cup to the European Championship.[1]

There were also some changes in the tournament's qualifying structure, with the two-legged home-and-away knock-out stage being replaced by a group phase.

Only four countries played in the final tournament. There were semi-finals, the final and a third place match.

The hosts were only announced after the qualifying round, which meant that they had to qualify along with all the others for the final stage.[2]

Venues[edit]

Flag map of Italy.svg

Florence
Soccer ball.svg
Rome
Soccer ball.svg
Naples
Soccer ball.svg
Rome Naples
Stadio Olimpico Stadio San Paolo
Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 82,000
Stadio Olimpico 2008.JPG 19870510 sanpaolo.jpg
Florence
Stadio Comunale
Capacity: 52,000
Soccer in Florence, Italy, 2007.jpg

Qualification[edit]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying

The qualification competition was played in two stages: a group stage (taking place from 1966 until 1968) and the quarter-finals (played in 1968). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each with the exception of group 4, which only had three. The matches were played in a home-and-away basis. Victories were worth 2 points, draws 1 point, and defeats 0 points. Only group winners could qualify for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis. The winners of the quarter-finals would go through to the final tournament.

The following teams participated in the final tournament:

See also: UEFA Euro 1968 squads
Country Qualified as Date of qualification Previous appearances1
 England Play-off winner 8 May 1968 0 (debut)
 Italy (host) Play-off winner 20 April 1968 0 (debut)
 Soviet Union Play-off winner 11 May 1968 2 (1960, 1964)
 Yugoslavia Play-off winner 24 April 1968 1 (1960)
1 Bold indicates champion for that year

Final tournament[edit]

1968 UEFA European Football Championship finalists.
The Italian team commemorated on a 1968 Ajman stamp

All time are CEST/UTC+2

Semi-finals Final
5 June – Naples (Stadio San Paolo)
  Italy (coin toss)  0  
  Soviet Union  0  
 
8 June – Rome (Stadio Olimpico) (replayed 10 June)
      Italy  2 (1)
    Yugoslavia  0 (1)
Third place
5 June – Florence (Stadio Comunale) 8 June – Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
  Yugoslavia  1   England  2
  England  0     Soviet Union  0

Semi-finals[edit]

5 June 1968
18:00
Italy  0–0 (a.e.t.)  Soviet Union
Report
Stadio San Paolo, Naples
Attendance: 68,582
Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

Match decided by toss of coin: Italy captain Giacinto Facchetti called correctly.

5 June 1968
21:15
Yugoslavia  1–0  England
Džajić Goal 87' Report

Third place play-off[edit]

8 June 1968
18:45
England  2–0  Soviet Union
Charlton Goal 39'
Hurst Goal 63'		 Report
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Attendance: 68,817
Referee: István Zsolt (Hungary)

Final[edit]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1968 Final

8 June 1968
21:15
Italy  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Yugoslavia
Domenghini Goal 80' Report Džajić Goal 32'
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Attendance: 68,817[3]
Referee: Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

As the match ended in a draw, a replay was played to determine the winner.

10 June 1968
21:15
Replay
Italy  2–0  Yugoslavia
Riva Goal 12'
Anastasi Goal 31'		 Report

Statistics[edit]

Top scorers[edit]

Seven goals were scored by six different players in the five matches, for an average of 1.4 goals per game. None of the goals were credited as own goals. Yugoslavia's Dragan Džajić was the top scorer by virtue of being the only player to score more than one goal.

2 goals
1 goal

Awards[edit]

UEFA Team of the Tournament[5]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Italy Dino Zoff Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mirsad Fazlagić Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ivan Osim England Geoff Hurst
Italy Giacinto Facchetti Italy Sandro Mazzola Italy Luigi Riva
Soviet Union Albert Shesternyov Italy Angelo Domenghini Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić
England Bobby Moore

References[edit]

  1. ^ John Brewin and Martin Williamson 29 April 2012 (29 April 2012). "Euro 2012: European Nations Cup 1968 | Live football and soccer news". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 23 August 2012. 
  2. ^ Sheringham, Sam (12 May 2012). "BBC Sport - Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2012. 
  3. ^ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012. 
  4. ^ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL Replay". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012. 
  5. ^ "1968 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
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